A national program director survey of the shift to competency-based education in ophthalmology.

Overview

PURPOSE: To assess the resources, progress, and barriers for program director (PD) compliance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandate. DESIGN: Survey. PARTICIPANTS: Ophthalmology PDs in the United States. METHODS: A survey instrument was sent to all ophthalmology PDs in the United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The survey instrument assessed PD tenure, funding, current efforts, evaluation modalities, barriers, and desired resources to meet the ACGME competency mandate. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 88 of 104 (85%) PDs. Significant disparities exist between PD financial compensation and actual time spent performing PD duties. This disparity and lack of understanding by faculty of the ACGME competencies were the most frequently cited barriers to success in complying with the ACGME mandate. The most commonly utilized assessment tools are the global or 360 degrees evaluations and clinical evaluation exercises. CONCLUSIONS: Program directors surveyed believe they are not receiving adequate resources to allow them to comply with the ACGME mandate. Although some tools have been implemented by PDs for assessing the competencies, additional national and centralized resources would be helpful.